July 11, 2013

Most doctors clamp and remove the umbilical cord within a minute after birth. Now, a new study finds that delaying clamping for at least a minute is beneficial to the baby and causes no harm to the mother. Doctors have long debated the proper time for cord clamping and this study finds that most doctors perform the procedure too early. The study, which analyzed data from 15 randomized trials 3,911 mothers and newborns, found that babies who experienced later cord clamping had higher hemoglobin levels one to two days after birth and were less likely to be iron deficient at three to six months. “It’s tough not to think that delayed cord clamping, including better iron stores and more hemoglobin, is a good thing,” says Dr. Jeffrey Ecker, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

Stand, the sink urinal invented by Latvian designer Kaspars Jursons, is helping to save water and encourage men to wash their hands at the same time. The artistic and colorful Stand features a sink above an attached urinal. The water from hand washing flows down into the urinal to clean things up a bit! The sink urinals have sold in Norway, Germany, Poland, Latvia and Russia. Jursons tells NPR that Stand isn't just a "fancy piece of art," but it's also functional and reduces consumption by eliminating the need use separate water for washing hands and flushing out urinals. Plus, for lazy men, there's really no excuse not to wash!

Some people who jumped on the trend of having their own backyard chickens in urban areas are learning that it may be a better idea to buy eggs at the farmer's market instead. NBC News says that, from California to New York, "hipster farmers" are dumping hundreds of chickens at shelters and sanctuaries each year. The problem is that chickens stop laying eggs after about two years, but can live another decade after that. In addition, chicken raising is just plain old hard, messy and noisy work. Another issue is that sometimes "hens" grow up to be crowing roosters! So, who wants a rooster and 10 retired hens? And, no, you're not supposed to eat the chickens you adopt from sanctuaries.